As for the States’ opponents in March, Switzerland moves up three spots to ninth after its USMNT draw and a win over Estonia, while Denmark stays 28th — one spot below the U.S. — with its other match being a 2-0 loss in France.

Last week, American Soccer Now reported that Klinsmann said, “With Ventura Alvarado, we have a kid we have watched several times.William Yarbrough, the goalie at Club León, we like him a lot. We are in touch with these two. There are a couple of youngsters in Germany coming through with the possibilities to play for us. There is one kid in England.”

There’s no word on whether Alvarado will get a call as well, but on Yarbrough:

— Age: 25 (26 on Saturday).

— Born in Mexico to emigrants from Texas.

— Has made 60 appearances for the Green Bellies and won the 2014 Clausura.

I’m nearly past the point of hating uniforms, even though I’d love for the States to go to a more uniform look (nothing wrong with the current home shirt, after all). Even though it isn’t my cup of tea, I don’t see any reason to be outraged with this shirt.

To be fair, the “bomb pop” shirts of last summer are holding up to the test of time (In other words, doing far better than their first impression).

The USMNT again left goalkeepers out to dry, and its supporters learned what it’s like when a superhero isn’t bailing them out. Brad Guzan and Bill Hamid were largely fine between the sticks, but neither pulled a Tim Howard.

Or a Kasey Keller. Or a Brad Friedel. The fact is that while the US has produced a stunning amount of quality goalkeepers, the defense has rarely rose to meet that level. The US has kept just four clean sheets this season, only two since April, and one was against Azerbaijan.

Consider:

– Matt Besler (right), who looked so impressive at the World Cup, brought his second-half Sporting KC form to Ireland and was way out of position when David McGoldrick beat him with a through ball for Anthony Pilkington’s opener.

– Fabian Johnson had been Mr. Versatility for Klinsmann, but looked out of sorts defending on Tuesday. He was part of some good dribbling and combination play moving forward, but poor defensive moments included the giveaway that led to Ireland’s second goal.

– Geoff Cameron had a few hard luck plays, including the ball that deflected off the Bostonian to give Ireland a 3-1 lead, and Klinsmann would benefit from either keeping him outside or playing him at holding mid.

– Timmy Chandler is a feast or famine player for the States. He was very, very hungry on Tuesday.

– Jermaine Jones, a career midfielder, has been playing in the center of the defense for his past few appearances before being sent home for the MLS playoffs.

– Greg Garza has looked pretty good and is likely the future of the left back position, but was roasted by Shane Long on the rush that led to Ireland’s third goal.

And, again, it’s nothing new. Carlos Bocanegra worked his way back into the side after being left out for a while because the States had few options (and perhaps he shouldn’t have been left out in the first place). Try “Player X” at outside back was the cry even leading up to the World Cup, and there still has even been a spot for Oguchi Onyewu at times despite his club struggles the past few years.

The US needs answers in the back. While both Ireland and the US were playing second-choice players all over the park, the alternatives aren’t there to fall back on. John Anthony Brooks is still on-again, off-again for club and country, DaMarcus Beasley is strong but aging and Omar Gonzalez still needs to find consistency. Same goes for Michael Orozco. DeAndre Yedlin is better as a winger, like Fabian Johnson.

You can see why Clarence Goodson was ticked off to miss the roster for World Cup, but so were a load of other guys. The States have used 26 players in the back this year alone. Twenty-six. But that’s quantity, not quality, and fans are starting to look ahead and hope several of Garza, Shane O’Neill, Erik Palmer-Brown, Dillon Serna, Matt Miazga and Cameron Carter-Vickers can become the fixtures the side used to have in Bocanegra and Steve Cherundolo (even Eddie Pope!).

Guardiola lauded US manager Jurgen Klinsmann for his role in guiding the USA out of the Group of Death at the World Cup – “the United States is making a lot and lot of steps forward about [Klinsmann’s] idea and his concept of football.”

But the former Spain midfielder was especially effusive in his praise for the US backline in Brazil: “Their movement was really, really, really, really good.”

That’s four reallys, folks.

Now of course Pep has at least three reasons to praise Klinsmann and US Soccer right off the bat. First, of course, is that his club is in America and likely being paid very handsomely to be here. Second is the love of Klinsmann back ‘home’ in Germany. And third is Bayern’s preference to grow their brand in America.

But it’s also real words from a man regularly-described as a footballing genius, and that’s rarely a bad thing (though I didn’t see whether his fingers were crossed or eyes were rolling).

Guardiola also had praise for the development of the game in the United States overall, as well as high-fives for the improvement of Major League Soccer in general. It’s a good, quick read.